I'm a SPURS fan and firm believer in the NBA conspiracies. They made it known in the past that the Spurs are boring, a ratings dropper, in other word bad for business. I was very upset to find out that the #1 seed, the best record in all of the NBA was put in the worst time slot possible, 10 am............on Easter Sunday. If anything at least. A late afternoon game. I would love to bbq and enjoy everything else that comes with this fine 4/20 day, P.S. the Spurs are a team organization, not a 1 man team/star/money minded team. They can keep their Labrons,Durants, Carmelos. I'll teach my kids to take notes from Spurs basketball, rather than looking up to ball hog, stat caring, I need to put the team on my back to kind a players.......I just had to let that out. I Still love me some basketball. GO SPURS

the spuds are only boring to the ignorant. spuds are the best TEAM in the league and they stay that way because of the partnership between ownership and coach Poppp (also duncan, GEE-NOOOOO-BLEE, parker and their fine supporting cast).
gonna be a fantastic Best Conf. finals - SeattleOKC & spuds.

I agree with your post Rastavibe. The spurs are a model franchise and their stars take a back seat to the team. Although I think Durant and Lebron also do it the right way, they just wanna win. Although, Carmelo fits into what you are saying for sure.

I'm really really hoping for a Warriors / Blazers (my 2 most favorite NBA teams) Western Conference Finals Series this year followed by the Warriors taking out Miami for their 1st NBA Championship since 1975. I'd be thrilled!

@Ninja-- boy did your Blazers pull off a comeback last night! I only tuned in to the 4th quarter, and it looked like the Rockets had the game in their hands, but the Blazers (esp. Lillard) refused to quit! Rockets are good, but I agree they are soft. And Howard is not their best player, Harden is... by far.

Sorry, I do respect the Spurs, but nobody wants to watch them except Spurs fans. I'd much rather see OKC in the Finals.

I can feel u on the Kings side of things, they get no respect, no love. Definitely needing a new areana. I'm also an A's fan and to me the Kings are the A's of basketball. No one wants to help or listen to there troubles so all they can do is just keep on playing with what they have..... and boy did the Warriors get dragged to the backyard and get a good whooping. Ouch even I felt it. The warriors have a lot of potential but the WEST is too Tuff a conference. GO SPURS

the Kings get no respect because they are terrible and have always been so outside of about a 7 year run with C Webb and The Rock. Perhaps if Vlade would have spent less time suckin down cancer sticks and more time on his defensive game respect would be in the cards for them...

I will say this. When Doug Christie attacked Chick Fox it was one of the greatest moments in my life.

Lakers till I die, but agree with your comment about Foxy! lol. However, NEVER again blaspheme the late great golden voiced Mr. Hearn but connecting his name with some pretty boy named Mr. Vanessa Williams!

Spurs are the best team in basketball. I'm not a fan and I'm not "bored" of them, just tired of them and ready for new blood. They are like a well seasoned surgeon, dissecting teams apart with both their offense and defense, perhaps never more so than this season. They have their rings and it's time for something new besides SA and MIA. It's been enjoyable over the last two seasons to watch their sudden demise, at then end, after such dominance. 2011-2012: 20 game win streak (10 in last games of reg season and 10 in playoffs, including two sweeps) only to lose 4 straight after a 2 - 0 lead over OKC. 2012-2013: 2 sweeps in playoffs and a 2 - 1 lead w/o homecourt advantage, loss in 7th game of finals.

I'm not hating, just saying that they've had their wins (I wouldn't call it a dynasty, there are very few of those). I'm just ready for some fresh faces. I guess Curious George is gonna play at least one more season.

Again, great team. Excellent basketball. Just tired of them after 15 or so years of the same 'ol. OKC takes the west, Miami repeats in 6.

The Warriors are a good team that could be great with a better coach. Mark Jackson is too cynical and a @#$%& talker of player who were much better than him.

Lillard is amazing and WOW! A $100 million contract with Adidas two years out from little Weber State in Ogden, UT. Good for him. Seems excessive, but Adidas has always been Nike's bitch...they may have been better off signing Wiggins or Parker to such a deal. Check the Karl Malone commercial with Lillard, pretty funny (but stings for a Jazz fan).

Parker or Embiid to the Jazz in 2 months along with a new coach = franchise reborn. Trey Burke, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, Enis Kanter, Rudy Gobert, Jeremy Evans, and Parker/Embiid....young and dangerous under the right coach. Kanter is a 20/10 machine and Burke will have a breakout season in 2014-2015. The west will only get stronger.

the reference i picked up on was the ciggarette smoking.. it wasnt widely known to the average sports fan that vlade smoked.. but i do remeber rome always made fun of vlade for smoking.. it first came to light, i think, when rome interviewed cedric cebollos(sp)..from that point rome nick-named vlade as the 'marlboro man'

i havent listened to rome in almost 10 years.. these days i am more into political, social, and financial discussions.. you tube, shout cast, ice cast is perfect for my talk radio and niche video addictions

QuoteNinja
BV... I don't have to listen to Jim Rome. I watched Vlade first hand for many years both with the Lakers and the Kings. The guy re invented the flop and brought it to he modern era.

There is not a a human being playing basketball at the same level as LMA... WAR BLAZERS!! (that was for you BV)

I like how they explained it last night.. they being Chuck Barkley.. LeMarcus posts up too far out for a double team. If you double him it leaves guys WIDE ASS OPEN. IF they double him and all the guys we have can't hit threes then we are in trouble. I am betting on Batum, Matthews, Lilliad, Williams and Wright to knock down those shots if they are open. Bad plan.. saw today Howard was hoping LeMarcus just eats something bad... Bad Plan..

Man, my Warriors are looking over-matched without Bogut. They are getting out-physicalled (?) by the Clippers. They'll compete till the end, but I don't have much hope for advancing. At this point, I'm thinking the Clippers could make it to the Finals with the way Griffin is playing. When he's hitting jump shots he's near unstopable. I thought OKC would get there, but they don't look so hot. The Spurs are gettting old (literally and figuratively), but if they do make it to the Finals I'll probably root for them as a last hurrah for the Duncan-Parker-Ginobli dynasty.

I just really hope Miami doesn't win. It's time for some new blood. I thought Indiana could knock them off, but WTF happened to them? It's a total conundrum to me because they looked like the best team in NBA for 75% of the season. They worked hard for the #1 seed, and they might not even beat the weak ass Hawks? As Barkley said, "they're playing like wussies". As usual Chuck is spot on!

Lastly, @BV, I think most fans knew Vlade smoked cigs, my friends and I used to joke about it!

QuoteReggabe
I thought Indiana could knock them off, but WTF happened to them? It's a total conundrum to me because they looked like the best team in NBA for 75% of the season. They worked hard for the #1 seed, and they might not even beat the weak ass Hawks? As Barkley said, "they're playing like wussies". As usual Chuck is spot on!

--------------------------------------RIP CITY---------------------------------
BLAZERS GOIN TO WESTERN FINALS FOR SURE
THEY HAVE TO GET THERE THROUGH TEXAS BUT..
THAT AINT GONNA STOP THEM...NO WAY....
HARDEN ONLY PUTS IN WORK WHEN THEY ARE DOWN 10 OR MORE
AND HOWARD IS A PUNK FOR PLAYING LIKE HE HAS..SHOULD BE ASHAMED
ROLO AINT GONNA TAKE IT MUCH LONGER,EITHER ARE THE OFFICIALS
BLAZERS CLIPS IN THE WESTERN FINALS...BLAZERS OVER HEAT FOR THE RINGS

who is? I mean who matches up with the Blazers in the West? Dallas? Memphis? Warriors? I mean seriously, the only team that I think the Blazers are man for man overmatched against is OKC... they have problems of their own... AND if you are thinking the heat.. who is going to cover LeMarcus again? BOSH?? AH HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHHAAH!!! Come on man this is RIP CITY, you gotta believe!

The Warriors' decision to go small in Game Four won them the game as much as the Sterling distraction; to Jackson's credit, he recognized Jermaine O'Neal was never going to match up with De'Andre Jordan, so they went with speed instead. We'll see how Doc adjusts, because he always does.

Yeah the NBA definitely can't involve themselves with an addictive Mexican?! Yet Floyd is in the conversation? Oscar would be a great fit! Kareem is pry the most morally sound guy in the bunch so far though, that would interest me.

Floyd is in the picture yes. Mainly because he has more money then most and he is the highest paid athlete in the world. Oscar runs Golden Boy Productions which IMO is far and away the best boxing promotion in the biz. Floyd also only picks winners. You may think he is a dick and he very well might be but he is MUST SEE TV. This is why he makes so much money when none of it comes from sponsors... and about his gambling.. see Michael Jordan for details.

Now that I have said all of that.. rumor is that Floyd and Oscar are in it together... as Oscar says.."I am THE face of LA" can't say that I can argue with him as far as sports go.

I really don't think the NBA wants anybody high profile owning the Clippers. I think the NBA wants people to start talking about the games being played and the players playing them, not the rich guys that own the teams.

We all know about Floyd, Diddy, and Oscar being interested because they went out and eagerly told the media so they could get some personal attention. I don't think the NBA wants owners that are out to get attention and promote themselves. I believe that it's the groups of investors that are not celebrities that will have the leagues blessing and ultimately buy this franchise.

Magic is a different story due to his history in the NBA, his prestige in LA, and his involuntary involvement in the drama. I think he could buy it if he wanted, he says he's not interested though.

Yes Rossta, I think our W's will win tonite to force Game 7, and then anything can happen... Go Dubs!!!

If the W's don't advance, I will definitely be pulling for Portland! Love the way those guys play, Aldirdge and Lillard are studs, they are my new favorite team! (and I did live in Portland for a year )

Nice win last night for the Warriors, can they win on the road in LA though??? Reggabe, I am with you, grew up in the Bay Area but now reside in OR so if the Warriors go out in game 7 I will root for the Blazers! Plus I like to blaze tough!

IMO... I can't see Magic competing with the Lakers for a championship. You saw how much pleasure he took in Coach D'Antoni leaving the Lakers.. does that sound like a guy who is ready to see them lose?

Flloyd is in the picture? Oh yeah I forgot we were talking about uneducated thugs. Worst idea EVER! A narcissitic, wife beating, disrespectful, gambling addict as the Clippers owner?! Can a brother get Donald Sterling back?

Anyway, @#$%& the Flippers. Win or lose the Dubs did much more than was expected with Bogut (and now O'Neal, thanks to Davis' cheap shot) out. I'm hoping they find a way to get Kevin Love in the offseason and make themselves a true player for the championship.

Phase one complete....
Phase two underway...Duncan & Pops...Sorry Pops but this is Stotts year...play like its 77... doin it for the doctor
good luck to all teams still playing but BLAZERS are on fire right now and team play will beat individual play any day

I'm happy for the Blazers and their ability to take out a talented but overrated Houston team. Portland people we know the feeling after making it to the second round last year but the San Antonio machine gave us a nice reality check. Either way it's good to see new blood in the mix and hopefully the West will continue to be a dogfight for years to come.

Good for you Blazers fans - and, Chimino, you are right - nice to see some new blood in the playoffs. However, the Blazers are not getting past the Spurs - Spurs in 6.

The Sterling controversy seems to have given the Clippers a little extra spark and, jeez, the Thunder seem vulnerable - Clippers in 7.

Pacers had just enough to beat the Hawks (thank G-d for home court advantage), but if Hibbert doesn't pull out of his funk, you'll see something very rare - the Wizards in the ECF. I got a feelign about this one, Wizards in 6.

And speaking of the Wizards, what happened to the Bulls in that series? Thibs better start looking for his next jobby job.

Paul Pierce saved the Nets ass last night, because the Raptors were surging at the end of that game. Ok Joe Johnson's 26 pts helped too. Nothing, however, will help them against the Heat. Heat in 5.

Damian Lillard's shot was by far the highlight of the playoffs so far, too bad I was asleep.

I'm a Wizards fan just learning what life is like with a respectable b-ball team in town.. the gilbert arenas years were OK, but full of knuckleheads (arenas, nick young, javale mcgee, andray blatche.... smh). This Wiz team is got a solid cast of good character guys; John Wall, Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza, Martin Gortat, Nene, Marterll Webster... It's really a joy to watch, and I think we're going to take down this Pacers team struggling with a lot of chemistry problems.

My boy loves the Wizards so much he wrote a song about it.... Wanna hear it? here it go...

Chris Paul exposed Russell Westbrook's defensive weakness last night and had a scorching shooting night. The Thunder had better find an answer quick or my prediction of 'Clippers in 7" will look pretty silly.

All I can do is shake my head at how the Wizards are whipping up on the poor Pacers - Hibbert in particular. Gortat/Nene worked him over. How in the world do you start at center for #1 seeded team in the ECF and go 0-0 in game 1 of the semis? What has happened to Roy Hibbert just boggles my mind.

Westbrook is not an elite PG. He is a highly athletic player with the ability to get to the rim and get on hot streaks as a shooter.

TRADE HIM if you ever want to win consistently with Durant. In all honestly trade him to the Celitcs for Rondo. Rondo plays D, is a Championship PG. He also PASSES the ball. Westbrook is like a more athletic and less effective Allen Iverson or a poor Man's Steph Marbury.. for those that never saw Marbury play trust me, in his youth he was a stone cold killer when it came to being able to light you up.

true Ninja - i still think Sonics Thunder should have traded westbrook rather than James Harden. Westbrook is a ball hog and refuses to defer to the best player in the league (Durant). I am surprised that OKC is playing so poorly in the playoffs. Bad as they are playing I still
think they have enough Durant to beat the flippers.

PS... you can call Floyd a lot of things.. to call him uneducated is to be uneducated. Floyd is a dick, or at least he plays one on TV. Don't beLIEve everything you read. That wife beating was taking a cell phone from her hand. In this case it is a felony due to the $ the phone cost. Because he "took it" from her it was also an assault.

IF you are not either an African American or "from the hood" don't call young black people thugs unless they are actually on the streets menacing people and committing crimes. No one ever referred to Robert Downey Jr or Lindsay Lohan as a Thug... hmmm wonder why that is? Never heard of any white athlete throughout the history of sport other than "White Chocolate" referred to as a Thug... hmm wonder why that is. Comparing Floyd Mayweather to Donald Sterling is dumb in my opinion. Floyd makes money off of being an A Hole.. "Money" is like Ted Dibiasi... For those who remember Ted Dibiasi, do you think that guy is really an A Hole? Or perhaps he was just "playing a roll" to sell some tickets... ask yourself this... who is the next highest paid African American fighter in all of combat sports? Exactly..

The Western Conference playoff games have been by far more exciting and entertaining than the Eastern games. I think the Blazers showed everything they had to win their playoff games. Popps and the SPURS are real versatile and still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Spurs/Blazer will make for a great series. Its a good match up but Spurs take it in 6. GO SPURS!!

QuoteNinja
PS... you can call Floyd a lot of things.. to call him uneducated is to be uneducated. Floyd is a dick, or at least he plays one on TV. Don't beLIEve everything you read. That wife beating was taking a cell phone from her hand. In this case it is a felony due to the $ the phone cost. Because he "took it" from her it was also an assault.

IF you are not either an African American or "from the hood" don't call young black people thugs unless they are actually on the streets menacing people and committing crimes. No one ever referred to Robert Downey Jr or Lindsay Lohan as a Thug... hmmm wonder why that is? Never heard of any white athlete throughout the history of sport other than "White Chocolate" referred to as a Thug... hmm wonder why that is. Comparing Floyd Mayweather to Donald Sterling is dumb in my opinion. Floyd makes money off of being an A Hole.. "Money" is like Ted Dibiasi... For those who remember Ted Dibiasi, do you think that guy is really an A Hole? Or perhaps he was just "playing a roll" to sell some tickets... ask yourself this... who is the next highest paid African American fighter in all of combat sports? Exactly..

Just remember that for every good playoff game we see that "rick old white fart" is getting PAID.... notice no one ever mentioned him not still getting paid and making money of the Clips. If the Clips make the finals their value will shoot through the roof. IF they win.. man they will be worth so much more and... Sterling still owns them at the end of the day.

Wow, the obvious still hasn't hit some people I guess. Lebron is the best player on earth and it really isn't that close. Lebron would make Westbrook know his role in OKC if he were there, just like he did in Miami. It really is funny that people still hate Lebron enough to not recognize how good he is. When they play each other Durant gets dominated.

At this point in time, Kevin Durant is the best player in the best league on this earth. It is not even close. Durant hoisted his team onto his back when Westbrook went out and willed them to the #2 seed in the WFC.

At this point in time one year ago (and now) Durant was/is the best player in the league. Please don't let your man-love of
Lebron cloud your judgement. I doubt if even St. Lebron could rein in westbrook. Dude is out of control. I'm not saying he isn't
effective or a crucial piece of the team - just that many times he should be looking for Durant but instead he is a-runnin' and a-gunnin'.

Let Lebron play one season in the wBest-ern conference and let's see what kind of year he has.conversely, let Durant run wild in
the Least-ern conference and he will average 40 points.....

Lebron hate alive and well I see. That could be the only explanation for thinking Durant is better. Sure Durant is a better scorer, that's it. Last time I checked basketball is about more than just scoring points.

They faced each other twice this year, each team winning one game. Lebron's line 33 7 reb 3 assist (won game): 34 3 3(lost)
Durant 28 8 3 lost 33 7 5 won - doesn't look like Lebron "dominated" at all.
I don't really have time to go back over all the stats but if someone wants to check out their history this is a great site for individual game stats [www.basketball-reference.com]....

sheesh - what are you - 16 years old??? no "hate" involved just 'cuz i have a different opinion (an opinion based on facts and Durant being
the league MVP this year)..... I really like Lebron's game - he is a great player. I just think Durant did more with a lesser team in a much
tougher division.

I am the biggest LeBron hater around, but he IS the best player by far. KD is gifted, but has no killer instinct and is naturally a facilitator. Durant is the best shooter by far. Maybe the best pure shooter I've ever seen. 1 of the worst mistakes in sports history was getting rid of James Harden. He will never win a title in Houston and OKC will never win a title without him. A damn shame all the way around.

My condolences (and congratulations) to the Portland Trailblazers - condolences that their run is at an end and congrats for this season's achievements. That's a good, young team that should have a few years of success in the West ahead of them. They just need a couple of more pieces and they could be hoisting the O'Brien Trophy over their heads.

Can the Heat be beat in the East? Here is my incisive (dare I say scintillating) analysis of the ECF -- No.

Any ot the teams left in the West (OKC, flippers, spurs) AND pootland, memphis and dallas would be able to beat the miamis in a
7 game series. Seriously - how can they let the totally inept pacers, whizzers and nets even into the playoffs? There should have been
10 - 12 teams from the west and the rest from the (L)east. The real NBA championship will be the Spuds vs OKC or flips.....

Congrats to Portland fans on a great announcement season by the organization. I look forward to many fun Warriors/Blazers matchups in the future. Oh and congrats to the Clippers, for whining again about referees this year. I guess y'all forgot they don't hand trophies out on a silver platter just because you have a couple All-Stars and play at the Staples Center.

Game 1 -
Boris Diaw epitomizes the Spurs....doing all the little things (defense, rebounds, ball movement) that win games.
LBJ shows (again) he has no heart. (preemptive "I'm not a hater" - i think he is one of the best players (ONE of
the best) and I would take him on my team anytime).....
How can anyone who loves NBA basketball call the Spurs boring. They play together as a team, make each other
better and have one goal (to win).

Spurs vs. Heat is looking like everything an NBA Finals should be. It's a compelling matchup, the team-first team vs. the stars-first team. This Blazer fan is rooting for the Spurs all the way, as they represent hope for every team that seeks to achieve NBA success without a player as dominant as LeBron or Durant. (I also look forward to a day when Popovich, Duncan, and Parker have retired so the rest of the Western Conference has a chance.)

mulligan, I'm curious why you think LeBron showed no heart yesterday. From what I understand, he still wanted to play at the end of the fourth quarter, cramp and all, but it was Spoelstra who wouldn't allow it.

i've gotten leg cramps and was unable to continue playing...however I never had a reputation for not having heart. It's weird that the
only one who cramped up so badly was lebron. this just adds to his list of disappearing in big games. just recently, in the pacers series (i think it was game 5), miami down 2 and lebron drives to the hoop but instead of taking the big shot he passes out for a missed three, game over pacers win. . to me, another example of lbj not wanting/being able to come up big.

I'd say LeBron was most affected by the heat because he's the only player on the court carrying his entire team on his back. I always find it interesting when people suggest that one of the hardest-working athletes in the world lacks heart.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Popovich had the Spurs training all year without AC in preparation for pulling this stunt in the Finals.

so Lebron has a big game - big surprise after his wimpout in game 1.
and he will no doubt have more big games. But i would bet he will also
disappear again in a game or two (like he usually does). I guess you gotta
take the good with the bad.

yo CrookedSmile - the conspiracy of the day is that the Heat (hmmmm, suspicious nickname)
sabotaged the AC because they were the ones practicing to play in the extreme Heat (hmmmm,
there's that name again)...but it backfired 'cuz LBJ was drinking the wrong rehydration fluids.

walter - spurs played pretty poorly during the last part of the 4th quarter....and still only lost by a 3 pointer.
4 missed free throws earlier sure came back to bite them. i am sure they will remember the team
sport aspect next game.